U.S. patent application number 13/210633 was filed with the patent office on 2012-03-08 for connecting apparatus with a combo port.
This patent application is currently assigned to ARCADYAN TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION. Invention is credited to MING-HSI HO.
Application Number | 20120056491 13/210633 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44764569 |
Filed Date | 2012-03-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120056491 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
HO; MING-HSI |
March 8, 2012 |
CONNECTING APPARATUS WITH A COMBO PORT
Abstract
Provided is a connecting apparatus with a combo port. The
connecting apparatus particularly supports two or more connecting
terminals in compliance with various types, especially the RJ-45
and RJ-11 connectors. According to one of the embodiments, the
apparatus with combo port includes a detecting circuit and a
connector control unit. The apparatus is preferably functioned to
detect the electrical signals from a connecting source, and perform
an automatic switching among the wires. After the signaling type of
an insertion of any connector is detected, the connector control
unit performs a route switching to define a combination of the
wires according to a control signal.
Inventors: |
HO; MING-HSI; (MIAOLI
COUNTY, TW) |
Assignee: |
ARCADYAN TECHNOLOGY
CORPORATION
HSINCHU
TW
|
Family ID: |
44764569 |
Appl. No.: |
13/210633 |
Filed: |
August 16, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61380805 |
Sep 8, 2010 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
307/116 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 25/0272 20130101;
H04L 12/413 20130101; G06F 2213/0038 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
307/116 |
International
Class: |
H03K 17/00 20060101
H03K017/00 |
Claims
1. A connecting apparatus with a combo port, comprising: a
connector module being a combo-type connecting port in compliance
with two or more standards of connection; wherein the connector
module includes a plurality of electrical contacts connected with a
plurality of metal wires; a detecting unit, electrically connected
to the connector module, for detecting an electrical signal as
plugging into the connector module; a connector control unit,
electrically connected with the connector module, for controlling
line combination of the connector module according to a control
signal; and a data processing unit, electrically connected with the
detecting unit and the connector control unit, for generating the
control signal according to a detection result made by the
detecting unit.
2. The connecting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the connector
module is a connector with 8 pins.
3. The connecting apparatus of claim 2, wherein the eight pins are
jointly connected to electrical contacts of an RJ-45 connector, and
six pins thereof are jointly connected to electrical contacts of an
RJ-11 connector.
4. The connecting apparatus of claim 3, wherein four pins of the
electrical contacts of the RJ-45 connector incorporate a 10BASE-T
or 100BASE-TX standard of connection, and connect to a circuit
module for Ethernet network.
5. The connecting apparatus of claim 4, wherein two pins of the
electrical contacts of the RJ-11 connector incorporate DSL standard
of connection, and connect to a circuit module of the Digital
subscriber line.
6. The connecting apparatus of claim 3, wherein eight pins of the
electrical contacts of the RJ-45 connector incorporate 1000BASE-T
standard of connection, and connect to a circuit module of Ethernet
network.
7. The connecting apparatus of claim 6, wherein two of the eight
pins are the pins for the RJ-11 connector are incorporated into DSL
standard of connection, and connect to a circuit module of the
Digital subscriber line.
8. The connecting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the connecting
apparatus with a combo port includes a memory unit electrically
connected to the processing unit data processing unit.
9. The connecting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the connecting
apparatus with a combo port is disposed onto a circuit board of
computer system.
10. The connecting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the connecting
apparatus with a combo port is implemented as an independent
connector.
11. A connecting apparatus with a combo port, comprising: a
connector module being a combo-type connecting port in compliance
with two or more standards of connection; wherein the connector
module includes a plurality of electrical contacts, and connects to
a plurality of metal wires; a detecting means for detecting an
electrical signal as plugging in the connector module; and a
switching means for generating a switching signal to switch the
lines of the connector module according to a detection result.
12. The connecting apparatus of claim 11, wherein the switching
signal is generated by a processing unit in response to the
detection result.
13. The connecting apparatus of claim 11, wherein the switching
means is implemented by a relay circuit, and the relay circuit
performs connection switching of the connector module as receiving
the switching signal.
14. The connecting apparatus of claim 13, wherein the relay circuit
connects to a line combination with a circuit module of an Ethernet
network, and a circuit module of Digital subscriber line, and the
line combination includes the unshared lines and the shared
lines.
15. A connecting apparatus with a combo port, comprising: a
combo-type connecting port, compatible with two or more types of
connections, wherein the combo-type connecting port includes a
plurality of electrical contacts, and connects to a plurality of
metal wires; the metal wires are divided into a plurality of line
combinations respectively connected to a first connection module
and a second connection module; and a switching means, performing
connection switching of the combo-type connecting port according to
a switching signal generated by a data processing unit, including
switching line combinations divided by the plurality of metal
wires.
16. The connecting apparatus of claim 15, wherein the combo-type
connecting port includes eight electrical contacts compatible with
an RJ-45 connector and an RJ-11 connector.
17. The connecting apparatus of claim 16, wherein eight pins are
jointly connected to electrical contacts of the RJ-45 connector,
and six pins thereof are jointly connected to the electrical
contacts of the RJ-11 connector.
18. The connecting apparatus of claim 17, wherein four pins of the
electrical contacts of the RJ-45 connector are incorporated into
10BASE-T or 100BASE-TX standard of connection, and connected to a
circuit module of an Ethernet network.
19. The connecting apparatus of claim 17, wherein eight pins of the
electrical contacts of the RJ-45 connector is incorporated into
1000BASE-T standard of connection, and connected to a circuit
module of an Ethernet network.
20. The connecting apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first
connection module is a circuit module for Digital subscriber line,
and the second connection module is a circuit module for an
Ethernet network.
Description
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This patent Application is based on Provisional Patent
Application Ser. No. 61/380,805, filed 8 Sep. 2010, currently
pending.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The instant disclosure is related to a connecting apparatus
with a combo port, more particularly to a network connecting
apparatus which employs a pin-sharing mechanism to perform two or
more network connection formats at the same time.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] With regard to the network arrangement, at least two types
of connecting ports are employed. RJ-45 serial port and RJ-11
telecommunication terminal are the general types of connectors.
8-pin RJ-45 connector is the preferred type used for bridging the
network devices including Switch, Router, Repeater, Hub, and
Bridge. The male connector is shown in FIG. 1(A), and the
corresponding female connector is such as shown in FIG. 1(B). The
pins of RJ-45 connector are indicated by numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
7 and 8. Table 1 shows an example illustrating the definitions of
pins of the RJ-45 stranded wire with 10M/100M transmission rate
connector.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 pin Functionality Pin Indication 1 Data
transmission Tx+ 2 Data transmission Tx- 3 Data reception Rx+ 4 n/a
n/a 5 n/a n/a 6 Data reception Rx- 7 n/a n/a 8 n/a n/a
[0006] The table 1 shows some unused pins 4, 5, 7, 8 at 10/100
BASE, and these pins may be used for 1000M data rate. The stranded
wire with data transmission rate at 1000M may employ all pins. The
pin definitions are exemplarily illustrated in Table 2.
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 pin Functionality Pin Indication 1 Duplex
data transmission and BI_DA+ reception (A+) 2 Duplex data
transmission and BI_DA- reception (A-) 3 Duplex data transmission
and BI_DB+ reception (B+) 4 Duplex data transmission and BI_DC+
reception (C+) 5 Duplex data transmission and BI_DC- reception (C-)
6 Duplex data transmission and BI_DB- reception (B-) 7 Duplex data
transmission and BI_DD+ reception (D+) 8 Duplex data transmission
and BI_DD- reception (D-)
[0007] Reference is made to the RJ-11 connector shown in FIG. 2. In
general application, RJ-11 includes 6 pins with definitions. Table
3 shows an exemplary example showing the definitions. The RJ-11
telecommunication port is generally used for the telephone line,
and also for application of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL). xDSL
indicates that the telephone line is made of copper stranded wires.
The telephone line is thereby implemented as a network line through
the data transformation by a DSL modem. A multifunctional personal
computer may be equipped with both RJ-45 and RJ-11 connectors.
TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 pin Functionality Pin Indication 1 Data
transmission (-) E_TX- 2 Data reception (+) E_RX+ 3 Vocal telephone
(ground) Tip 4 Vocal telephone (electric) Ring 5 Data reception (-)
E_RX- 6 Data transmission (+) E_TX+
[0008] Thus the detailed description directed to the invention is
disclosed to provide a solution therefor.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] Based on the understand of the conventional eight pins of
the standard RJ-45 serial connector and the six pins RJ-11
telecommunication connector, they have a certain similarity.
Especially, the plugs and inside tenons of both conventional
connectors are interchangeable. The instant disclosure discloses a
combo-type connecting port integrating at least two standards of
connection. The combo-type connecting port includes a connecting
terminal compatible with an RJ-45 serial connector and an RJ-11
telecommunication connector.
[0010] According to one of the embodiments in the invention, the
connecting apparatus with a combo port mainly has a connector
module, which is compatible with two or more combo-type connections
in compliance with some standards. The port includes a plurality of
electrical contacts and the corresponding metal wires. A detecting
unit connected with the connector module is also included. The
detecting unit is driven to detect the electrical signal as
plugging into the connector module. The connecting apparatus with a
combo port further includes a connector control unit connected with
the connector module for generating a control signal according to
the detection result made by the data processing unit through the
detecting unit. The control signal is used to control the line
combinations of the connector module.
[0011] The connecting apparatus, in one embodiment, is exemplarily
an RJ-45 connector having eight pins in compliance with a standard
of connection. This combo-type connecting port also has the pins
adapted to the RJ-11 connector. Thus the apparatus includes some
unshared lines and some shared lines.
[0012] A line switching mechanism is particularly introduced to
implement the invention that provides shared pins for both RJ-45
connector and RJ-11 connector. The mechanism allows the connecting
apparatus in the invention to support the standards of 10BASE-T,
100BASE-TX, and 1000BASE-T, and also the RJ-11 connector. According
to one of the embodiments, the switching mechanism is accomplished
by a relay circuit used for receiving a switching signal.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 (A)(B) schematically show the RJ-45 connectors in the
conventional technology;
[0014] FIG. 2 schematically shows an RJ-11 telecommunication
connector in the conventional technology;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a connecting apparatus
with a combo port of the computer system in one embodiment of the
present invention;
[0016] FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a connecting apparatus
with a combo port in one embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a connecting apparatus
with a combo port in one further embodiment of the present
invention;
[0018] FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of a connecting apparatus
with a combo port in third embodiment of the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of a connecting apparatus
with a combo port in fourth embodiment of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0020] The present invention now will be described more fully
hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention
may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be
construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather,
these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be
thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the
invention to those skilled in the art.
[0021] Network registered Jack includes some types, such as RJ-45
and RJ-11. The RJ-45 connector is a terminal of cable for data
transmission over a network. The types of connections are generally
made for the household network devices, such as router and hub, or
prepared between the network device and a computer system. Further,
the RJ-11 connector is usually adapted to the telephone line,
including the connection between the telephone line and the indoor
Digital subscriber line modem, such as the ADSL modem. The RJ-11
connector is also used for connecting the personal computer and the
modem for dialing up to the network.
[0022] One of the objectives in the instant disclosure is to
integrate the mentioned two standards of connection. A connecting
apparatus with a combo port is accordingly disclosed. In
particular, a combo-type connecting port is provided for
integrating the types of connections, especially to a female
connector therefor. The combo-type connecting port is electrically
connected with a detecting unit and a control circuit. The
detecting unit is used to detect a connection signal there-between.
The connection signal is made for confirming a connection mode, and
accordingly switching one of the connection modules for the various
types of connections.
[0023] Reference is made to FIG. 3, which describes a schematic
diagram of a connecting apparatus with a combo port in a computer
system in one embodiment. This connecting apparatus with a combo
port is particularly implemented in a main board 30 of a computer
system 3. One of the primary components is a connector module 303
on the main board 30. This connector module 303 is a combo-type
connecting port in compliance with two or more standards of
connection. The port is equipped with a plurality of electrical
contacts and the connected metal wires. The structure of connector
module 303 has a female connector housing, metal-made electrical
contacts, and the lines (not shown) connected to the main board 30.
In one embodiment of the disclosure, the combo-type connecting port
integrates the female connectors for the mentioned RJ-45 and RJ-11
connections. The related connector module 303 mostly has eight
pins.
[0024] The connecting apparatus with a combo port is exemplarily a
combo-type connecting port supporting various standards of
connection. An automatic detecting means is introduced to detecting
the connection standard as any connection plugged into the
combo-type connecting port automatically, especially through a
detecting circuit. Next, according to the detection result, a
switching means is introduced to conducting a line switching. The
related detection regards the electrical signals measured from the
state of the plugging physical layer. In other words, a specific
communication protocol for the contacts to be detected is
acquired.
[0025] In one of the embodiments of the disclosure, the mentioned
automatic detecting and switching means may be respectively
implemented as a connector control unit 305 and a detecting unit
307 as shown in the diagram of the connecting apparatus with a
combo port. For the purpose of supporting various standards of
connection, the connector module 303 is electrically connected with
the connector control unit 305 and the detecting unit 307. The
detecting unit 307 is to automatically detect the electrical
signals of the connecting terminal 301 plugged into the port of
connector module 303. Through the connecting relationship with
regard to the electrical signals of the electrical contacts, it is
able to acquire the property of connecting terminal 301 and also
determine the standard of the connection source.
[0026] According to the embodiment, the detecting unit 307 is
electrically with a data processing unit 309. The data processing
unit 309 receives the signal property from the detecting unit 307,
and the process the signaling among the connections and data
processing. The data processing unit 309 also handles the network
packets forwarding and transmitting. In response to the detection
result, a control signal is generated. This control signal will be
transmitted to the connector control unit 305 for controlling the
line combination of the connector module 303 so as to comply a
specific standard of connection. The connector control unit 305 is
electrically connected with the data processing unit 309, and
functioned to receive the control signal from the data processing
unit 309. According to the control signal, a specific line
combination is allowed to implement the pin definition for the
RJ-45 serial connector or the 6-pin RJ-11 connector.
[0027] The connecting apparatus with a combo port includes a memory
unit 311, according to one of the embodiments, electrically
connected to the data processing unit 309 for storing user's
configurations to the apparatus. Or, the memory unit 311 is also
for storing the configurations which are ever detected. Thereby,
the connecting apparatus with a combo port may be configured to
control the line combination of the connector module 303 by
referring to the configurations stored in the memory unit 311 in
the future.
[0028] According to one further embodiment in accordance with the
present invention, the connector module 303 shown in FIG. 3 may be
a standalone device, but not installed on the main board. For
instance, the shown connector module (303) may be the device
connected to a handheld device or other systems through an adapter
such as a USB or other types of adapters.
First Embodiment
[0029] Table 4 shows a first embodiment of the specification
regarding 8-pin RJ-45 connector.
[0030] In the present embodiment, the connector may have a
plurality of electrical contacts, preferably eight pins and
numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. This format is especially
applicable to the RJ-45 standard. The numbered pins 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
and 7 correspond to the format for RJ-11 connector, whose pins
numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. In other words, there are six pins of
the eight pins of RJ-45 connector being shared with RJ-11
connector.
[0031] In practice, the connecting apparatus with a combo port may
have some unshared lines, for example, the 10/100BASE standard
lines may not necessary to be shared with the lines of RJ-11
connector. On the contrary, two of 1000BASE lines may be shared
with the RJ-11 connector. The related description is referred to
FIGS. 6 and 7.
[0032] Regarding functionalities to the connecting apparatus, four
pins numbered 1, 2, 3 and 6 of the eight pins of RJ-45 connector
are adapted to the connection for Ethernet network. In one
embodiment, the pins of the mentioned standards in compliance with
10BASE-T and 100BASE-TX may be indicated as E_TX+, E_TX-, E_RX+,
and E_RX-. The pins 3 and 4 respectively indicate Tip and Ring,
which are applicable to xDSL connection. The general telephone line
is a 2-pin stranded wire.
TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 RJ-45 pins RJ-11 pins Functionality
Indication 1 Ethernet network E_TX+ 2 1 Ethernet network E_TX- 3 2
Ethernet network E_RX+ 4 3 xDSL Tip 5 4 xDSL Ring 6 5 Ethernet
network E_RX- 7 6 8
[0033] Further reference is made to FIG. 4, where a connecting
apparatus with a combo port 40 embodying an RJ-45 connector 401 is
shown. Eight pins and corresponding eight metal wires are provided.
The pins and the wires, in accordance with a specific standard of
connection, are shared with both first connection module 405 and
second connection module 406.
[0034] The metal wires may be divided into several line
combinations. The practical implementation for the 10BASE-T or
100BASE-TX standard adopts pins 1, 2, 3 and 6 of the eight pins. As
shown in the diagram, the line combination 402 having pins 1, 2, 3
and 6 is linked to the second connection module 406, which may be
the circuit module of Ethernet network. The line combination 403
having the pins 4 and 5 is linked to the first connection module
405, such as the circuit module of Digital subscriber line.
[0035] Reference is made to FIG. 4 showing a circuit arrangement.
The connecting apparatus 40 is configured to connect to the first
connection module 405 and the second connection module 406. This
apparatus 40 integrates at least two terminals with two standards
of connection. By referring to FIG. 3, the detecting unit is used
to detect the electrical signal as in connection to one of the
modules (405, 406). Then a suitable line combination (402 or 403)
may be selected. By means of automatically detecting the signal for
each pin, a certain line combination can be exactly switched rather
than the conventional configuration which needs to be reset firstly
before the connection.
Second Embodiment
[0036] Table 5 shows another embodiment related to the connecting
apparatus in accordance with the present invention. The pins of
RJ-45 connector are indicated as pins 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.
The pins 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are corresponding to the pins 1, 2, 3,
4, 5 and 6 of RJ-11 connector. The pins 2, 3, 6 and 7 of RJ-45
connector are adapted to connection of Ethernet network, and
indicated as E_TX-, E_RX+, E_RX- and E_TX+ correspondingly. The
pins 3 and 4 of RJ-11 connector are applicable to the network
connection of Digital subscriber line, and they are Tip and
Ring.
TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 RJ-45 pin RJ-11 pin Functionality Indication
1 2 1 Ethernet network E_TX- 3 2 Ethernet network E_RX+ 4 3 xDSL
Tip 5 4 xDSL Ring 6 5 Ethernet network E_RX- 7 6 Ethernet network
E_TX+ 8
[0037] The applications with respect to the pin definitions in
Table 5 may be referred to the embodiment described in FIG. 5.
[0038] The shown 8-pin RJ-45 connector 501 embodies the connecting
apparatus with a combo port 50 according to the invention. The pins
1 and 8 are disabled, and the pins 2, 3, 6 and 7 assemble a line
combination 502, especially applicable to the RJ-45 connector. This
line combination 502 is linked with the second connection module
506 exemplarily for the wiring of Ethernet network. The pins 4 and
5 form a line combination 503, which is linked with the first
connection module 505, applicable to wiring the RJ-11 connector.
RJ-11 connector may be used for the circuit module of Digital
subscriber line.
[0039] The detecting circuit is used to detect the electrical
signal as the connecting apparatus 50 is plugged with the RJ-45
connector 501. The associated connection format can therefore be
determined. A control circuit is used to switch the connection to
the first connection module 505 or to the second connection module
506 in response to the detected electrical signal.
Third Embodiment
[0040] The next Table 6 shows one further embodiment of the
connecting apparatus in accordance with the present invention. The
shown pins are exemplarily served for 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX,
1000BASE-T (the RJ-45), and RJ-11 standards of connection at one
time. The pins for RJ-45 connector are indicated by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7 and 8. The pins 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 correspond to the pins 1,
2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 for RJ-11 connector. The connecting apparatus
still supports the transmission rate with 1000M (1000BASE-T). When
the pins 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8 of RJ-45 connector are adapted to
connection for Ethernet network, the pins may be identified by
E_AP, E_AN, E_BP, E_CP, E_CN, E_BN, E_DP, and E_DN. The pins 3 and
4 of RJ-11 connector are applicable to the connection of Digital
subscriber line. Meanwhile, the two pins can be identified by Tip
and Ring respectively. These two shared pins are also identified by
Tip/E_CP and Ring/E_CN.
TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 6 RJ-45 pin RJ-11 pin Functionality Indication
1 Ethernet network E_AP 2 1 Ethernet network E_AN 3 2 Ethernet
network E_BP 4 3 xDSL/Ethernet network Tip/E_CP 5 4 xDSL/Ethernet
network Ring/E_CN 6 5 Ethernet network E_BN 7 6 Ethernet network
E_DP 8 Ethernet network E_DN
[0041] FIG. 6 shows the embodiment associated with the Table 6.
[0042] RJ-45 connector 601 embodies the connector module of the
shown connecting apparatus with a combo port. The pins 1, 2, 3, 4,
5, 6, 7 and 8 include at least two definitions of line
combinations. In which, the pins 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8 form a line
combination 60, and the pins 4 and 5 assemble a line combination
602. The function of the line combination 602 may be switched by a
switching means. Therefore, the connecting apparatus can be adapted
to both xDSL and Ethernet network connections.
[0043] In the exemplary example, the switching means may be
implemented by a relay circuit 610 connected to the processing unit
609. The relay circuit 610 switches the line combinations in
response to a switching signal generated from the processing unit
609. The switching means is served in the midst of the line
combination 603 or of the line combination 604. The line
combination 603 is exemplarily connected to the first connection
module 607, and the line combination 604 is to the second
connection module 608. In one embodiment, the line combination 605
for the RJ-45 connector 601 is extended to assemble the line
combination 606 connected to the second connection module 608.
[0044] According to the embodiment described in FIG. 6, the
mentioned switching means, in response to the switching signal,
performs the switching between the first connection module 607 for
xDSL line and the second connection module 608 for Ethernet
network. Therefore, the connecting apparatus with a combo port is
allowed to supports at least two standards of connection. In the
preferred embodiment, the connecting apparatus can be served for
10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T, and RJ-11 standards. In
particular, the 1000BASE-T connection uses the full eight pins of
RJ-45 connector. When the eight pins need to be shared with the
RJ-11 connector, the switching means may generate the switching
signal through the relay circuit 610, or other equivalent switching
mechanisms.
[0045] The described processing unit 609 may be implemented as the
connector control unit 305 shown in FIG. 3, or other processing
chip integrated with controlling, detection, and data
processing.
Fourth Embodiment
[0046] FIG. 7 shows another embodiment for standards including
10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T, and RJ-11 connections. An RJ-45
connector 701 embodies the connector module. Pins 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
7 of 8 of the RJ-45 connector 701 are connected with a switching
module 710. The switching module 710 implements a switching action
among the standards of connection. In an exemplary example, the
switching module 710 performs the switching according to the
switching signal generated from the processing unit 709. The
switching module 710 then uses the different line combinations
(702, 703, 704, and 705) to link with a first connection module 707
and a second connection module 708.
[0047] The connector module supports 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX,
1000BASE-T, and RJ-11 connections. The switching module 710 shall
provide various switching modes for supporting the various
standards. When the detecting circuit checks any connection by
10BASE-T or 100BASE-TX, four pins of the connecting apparatus are
switched to the cline combination connected to the second
connection module 708, exemplarily for Ethernet network. Since the
detecting circuit detects the connection of 1000BASE-T is
connected, eight pins thereof can be assembled for linking to the
same line combination of second connection module 708. Further, if
the RJ-11 connection is detected, only two pins of the port need to
be switched to conduct the connection to the first connection
module 707. The above-mentioned line combinations shall be
adequately configured to fit in with the specific connection,
including the user's configuration stored in the memory unit
(referred to FIG. 3) as required.
[0048] Furthermore, the 1000BASE-T connection uses eight pins of
the port. Two pins, such as the shown pins 4 and 5, thereof are
shared with RJ-11 connector. The pins 4 and 5 may be switched to
serve the first connection module 707, for example the line
combination 702, by the switching module 710. Alternatively, the
second connection module 708, namely the line combination 703, may
be served by the pins 4 and 5 in the example. The line combination
703 may be assembled with the line combination 704 so as to form a
line combination 705, in which the eight pins are jointly serving
the second connection module 708.
[0049] The above-mentioned processing unit 709 can also be achieved
by the connector control unit 305 shown in FIG. 3, or the other
processing chip for performing controlling, detection, and data
processing.
[0050] In an exemplary embodiment of the connecting apparatus with
a combo port in accordance with the present invention, part or the
entire associated connector module, detecting unit, connector
control unit and the data processing unit may be integrated into a
chip in a computer system. For example, a chip integrated with a
detecting circuit and a control circuit may be provided. The
mentioned functions may also be implemented in an IC to integrate
the Ethernet network circuits and the Digital subscriber line
circuits. The IC has capability of automatically detecting the
connected signal, and well providing a suitable line switching.
[0051] To sum up the above description, connecting apparatus with a
combo port is to integrate the various standards of connection by
means of pins sharing. Further, the mechanism of connection
detection achieves the automatic switching means to perform the
automatic switching.
[0052] It is intended that the specification and depicted
embodiment be considered exemplary only, with a true scope and
spirit of the invention being indicated by the broad meaning of the
following claims.
* * * * *